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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mug — a face
  6. field — a subject
  7. cell — in biology
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ball — a dance
  11. mug — a cup
  12. field — for sport
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mug — to rob
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rash — hasty
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rash — a series
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pitcher — in baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com